Weekly Tails From Southeastern Guide Dogs

One More Walkathon For Southeastern Guide Dogs

Two down, one to go – head to Vinoy Park in St. Pete for Southeastern Guide Dogs’ biggest fundraiser of the year!

Every year Southeastern Guide Dogs’ Walkathon draws supporters from all over the country.  Some are volunteers, some graduates, some sponsors and others just want to get out and walk with their best friend. Now, the final Walkathon of the season is upon us!  Saturday, March 9, fans, supporters, donors, puppy raisers, graduates, and of course their dogs will converge on Vinoy Park to walk for a great cause.  Last year’s walk in St. Pete saw the biggest crowds in the 27-year history of Walkathon and hopes are that will be surpassed this year! The Walkathon was spread out over three weekends, with the first one kicked off on Feb. 23 in Bradenton's newly renovated Rossi Park. The Walkathon went back to its roots and was supported by more than …

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Bounce U Closing Sarasota Party Center

Owner Meredith Armstrong sent out an email to customers thanking them for their business.

After five years, a birthday party center for kids in north Sarasota is closings its doors. Bounce U owner Meredith Armstrong emailed customers Wednesday announcing that she and her husband Scott Armstrong will close Feb. 25. Simply, the facility was too big and costly to run for the demographics it served, according to Armstrong's message. Here is her email: We are parents of four amazing children, and we truly have enjoyed being a part of your children's lives, and this community. BounceU has truly given us the chance to meet amazing people.

It is with a heavy heart that I must announce we will be closing our doors for good on Monday February 25th, 2013. We have had a great run, and I myself truly believed this business was exactly what…

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Weekly Tails From Southeastern Guide Dogs

No Summer Break for Puppies

While all the kids are out playing, Southeastern Guide Dogs’ puppies are studying hard in Puppy Kindergarten so one day they will be guide dogs.

If you are looking for something fun to do with the kids this summer, why not take them to Puppy Kindergarten?  While there might not be little puppies to hug during the normal summertime whelping lull, you can still come onto Southeastern’s campus and interact with the older pups that are starting their training. You may have heard about Early Puppy Socialization at Southeastern Guide Dogs starting just two weeks after the puppies are born, where they are exposed to different walking surfaces and sounds and they begin potty training.  Well, when the pups are a bit older, they move into Puppy Kindergarten.  This is the time when they will learn leash manners and a variety of more specialized commands that will come in handy later when they…

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Weekly Tails From Southeastern Guide Dogs

Celebrate Southeastern Guide Dogs' 30 Years

The Saturday open house offers a tour, a blindfolded walk with a guide dog and a chance to play with puppies.

Southeastern Guide Dogs opens its campus five days a week for volunteer puppy huggers and dog walkers, but this Saturday, May 12, is a great opportunity to learn all about Southeastern and their superb dogs because it is open house. How is open house different from any other time you can come to the Palmetto campus? There are a number of activities happening this Saturday that don’t normally occur. Volunteers will be leading guided tours, filling guests in on the history and inner workings of Southeastern.  While readers of this column have gotten an inside look at what Southeastern does, the tour will give you a chance to see the training grounds and kennels for yourself. You’ll also get the chance to interact with the adorable bundles of…

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Weekly Tails From Southeastern Guide Dogs

Spring Break is a Family Affair at This Campus

Southeastern Guide Dogs’ campus has been abuzz all week with Spring Break visitors. Here’s how you can bring the Spring Break fun home all year.

With Spring Break come big crowds for Puppy Hugging and Dog Walking on Southeastern Guide Dogs’ campus. Southeastern is the only guide dog school that opens its campus five days a week to the general public to enlist their help in socializing the puppies and exercising the dogs-in-training and people come in carloads to the picturesque campus. While this socialization and exercise is very important, there are also other ways the whole family can get involved with Southeastern Guide Dogs. One major way would be to become puppy raisers.  These selfless folks bring a cuddly bundle of puppy energy into their homes, love it, teach it basic obedience and expose it to the wide world. Then once the pup has become a well-behaved dog, they return it…

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Weekly Tails From Southeastern Guide Dogs

Good News From Southeastern's Walkathon Wrap-Up

Southeastern Guide Dogs’ Walkathon was last weekend. In case you didn’t make it to Vinoy Park, here’s a wrap-up of the day’s events.

It was a gorgeous day March 3 down by the waterfront in St. Petersburg when people gathered for the 26th Annual Southeastern Guide Dogs Walkathon. The site was laid out with a variety of activities for the whole family – there were three giant bounce houses/slides for the kids, food trucks with delicious fare, dog massage, and a giant tent that housed both of Southeastern’s gift shops. By dinner the day got even better with volunteer awards and a big surprise for Southeastern Guide Dogs. The walk was led by Petey, the First Pup of St. Petersburg, and Miss St. Pete.  The line of walkers seemed never-ending as they made their way along the 3K walk. Many different breeds of dog were in attendance from Great Pyrenees to teacup Pomeranians, all…

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Weekly Tails From Southeastern Guide Dogs

Getting Ready for the Walkathon

Southeastern Guide Dogs’ Walkathon is this weekend. Ever wonder what it takes to put on such an event? Here’s the breakdown by the numbers.

Saturday, March 3 is the 26th Annual Southeastern Guide Dogs Walkathon.  While the walk participants likely just spend a little bit of time getting ready to walk, at Southeastern we have been planning this event for the past year.  Here’s a snapshot at what all goes into getting ready for Walkathon. Number of Southeastern Guide Dogs Staff at the walk: 68 Number of Volunteers at the walk: 170 Number of trained dogs for blindfold walks: 20 Number of Fundraisers: 1,986 Number of Fundraisers who created sitstaygive.org pages: 246 Number of Tents: 8 Length of walk: 3K Number of food trucks: 3 Pounds of BBQ Chefs Rob & Lance will be cooking: 100 Number of Silent Auction items: 35 Number of raffle prizes: 3 (including the $10,000 grand prize) …

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Weekly Tails From Southeastern Guide Dogs

Come Join the Guide Dog Family

Southeastern Guide Dogs’ Walkathon is not only a great fundraiser, but a terrific way to be a part of a fantastic community.

The 26th Annual Southeastern Guide Dogs Walkathon is set for March 3. Walkathon is Southeastern’s biggest fundraiser and this year looks like it will surpass all the previous years with record attendance expected.  “We outgrew our previous locations, so this year we are moving the walk to St. Pete’s Vinoy Park,” said Stacey Price, Special Events Manager, “and the city of St. Petersburg has welcomed us with open arms.”  The new location has allowed Southeastern to expand the activities of the day to include something for the whole family. This year’s Walkathon is shaping up to be a fun-filled morning for everyone, two-legged and four-legged alike.  Obviously, dogs are more than welcome at the walk and there will even be a dog masseuse on …

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Weekly Tails From Southeastern Guide Dogs

They've Been Committed — In a Good Way — Since 2005

Southeastern Guide Dogs’ Puppy Raisers selflessly give of themselves 24/7 for at least a year, so that someone else can have their independence. Here’s a profile of just one such family.

Could you take ownership of a cute cuddly 10-week-old puppy, love and train it for more than a year, spend practically every moment with that dog showing it the wide world around you and then just when it is starting to shake off the puppy playfulness, give it back?  That is what happens nearly 200 times a year at Southeastern Guide Dogs.  Volunteer Puppy Raisers are responsible for giving Southeastern’s guide dogs the solid base on which a world class dog grows. But they don’t always start off at Southeastern as Puppy Raisers, sometimes they get eased into the position.  Shay Doerner and her family are the perfect examples. In 2005 Shay and Brian Doerner were looking for a pet to grow up with their three kids. Having heard about …

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Weekly Tails From Southeastern Guide Dogs

Get Ready to Walk!

Southeastern Guide Dogs’ biggest fundraiser of the year is set for March 3, but people are getting ready for it now, here’s why.

Every year Southeastern Guide Dogs’ Walkathon draws supporters from all over the country.  Some are volunteers, some graduates, some sponsors and others just want to get out and walk with their best friend. This year’s Walkathon looks to bring the biggest crowd yet with the location being shifted to St. Petersburg’s Vinoy Park.  The gorgeous location along with a street fair vibe complete with food vendors and fun things for the whole family are sure to bring crowds in droves. What makes Walkathon different from all other charity walks?  It’s dog-friendly, of course!  Not only are dogs welcome, but expected to join in on the fun – and with the dog’s registration fee comes a dog bandana.  You’re likely to be walking alongside dogs from …

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